Done and Done!

The Goblin King (Peter Daly) serenades the crowd on our open mic. Photo courtesy of Ron Sannachan.

Pure Speculation Festival 2017 is in the can for another year, and myself and the other organizers are taking a well deserved rest. But don’t worry, we’ll be back at it soon enough with the first of our smaller events coming at the end of September.

Thank-yous are in order, many, many thank-yous. This festival could not happen without the involvement of many people, so I want to take a moment to thank:

The vendors and artists who filled our main hall, and took a chance that our little festival would be a worthwhile venture for them. Several of you have told me that the weekend was successful for you, which is gratifying. More so, a few of you have already asked for tables next year, so thank-you for that;

(L to R) Ann Marston, Vanessa Cardui, and Barb Galler-Smith wrap up a day of panels with the GoH Megapanel. Photo courtesy of Ron Sannachan.

Our Guests of Honour: Ann Marston, Barb Galler-Smith, and Vanessa Cardui. The three of them were the jewels in a somewhat rough hewn crown, and I’m so pleased that we were able to feature them this year;

Our panelists, who took the time to fill our empty rooms with shared nerdery;

Our good friends of the Festival, On Spec Magazine and Edmonton Nerd List, for being so active and vocal in your support of our event. It means the world that On Spec is still with us, and that Nerd List whole-heartedly embraced us;

The volunteers who helped the festival run smoothly. We hope the muffins and the fun made it worth while, and I owe you all a volunteer thank-you party (details coming soon);

To the Alberta Avenue Community League for hosting us amidst their renovations. We were very happy in our new home, and I look forward to next year with anticipation;

To my fellow organizers. Thank-you for the hard work, especially once we arrived at the venue. You should all be proud of this thing we built together;

And finally, a huge thank-you to everyone who came out to enjoy the festival, took in some panels, bought something in the dealer hall, maybe picked up a membership. This festival is all for you, and I cannot tell you how gratifying it is that so many of you came out and enjoyed the event. I hope we continue to give you a festival you can enjoy for many years to come.

Stay tuned, Spectacles! We have plenty more nerdery to share with you through the year.